By Jeff Harrington, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
BB&T is buying Fort Lauderdale-based BankAtlantic for a $301 million premium, further extending its Florida footprint.
The deal announced early Tuesday gives BB&T another $3.3 billion in deposits, $2.1 billion in loans, and 78 branches.
BB&T, which is based in Winston-Salem, N.C., selectively picked only the best assets from BankAtlantic. In a statement, the bank said it declined to absorb "non-performing and other criticized assets."
That leaves BankAtlantic's parent company, BankAtlantic Bancorp, holding $623.6 million in assets, more than half of which are reportedly troubled loans. BankAtlantic management is expected to eventually sell the remaining assets.